The myriad of new renovations that have affected students’ lives have also prompted changes from the Department of Public Safety.
Because Raynor Library will be open for 24 hours, DPS has hired two additional officers to supplement the library staff and patrol the library during the night shift. No longer will officers who patrol residence halls be titled Resident Hall Officers, said Capt. Russ Shaw, associate director for DPS. Instead, the title of Safety Services Officer will be used to describe those officers who may patrol a residence hall or the Raynor.
The addition of two residence halls has also altered the LIMO route to accommodate South Hall, 525 N. 17th St., and the Haggerty House, on the corner of North 16th Street and West Kilbourn Avenue. South Hall will become a regular LIMO stop for both the “cheese” and regular LIMOs. Haggerty House will not be an actual stop but students can easily flag one down, said Sgt. Daniel Kolosovsky of DPS.
With two new residence halls added to a LIMO route in which waiting times sometimes frustrate riders, DPS is working to make sure as many LIMOs will operate as possible.
“We’re in good shape,” Kolosovsky said. He said that more LIMOs would be added to the streets as soon as the training of new employees “allows it to happen.”
“It would be great to have all 12 vans on the road, but we need the drivers,” he said. “Proper and thorough training is required to establish safe drivers.”
The Raynor Library will also be a “cheese” and regular LIMO stop. Because the library will be open for 24 hours, shuttles driven by SSOs will run between 3 a.m. and 7 a.m. to accommodate late-night studiers, Kosolovsky said. Because students will no longer be able to enter and exit Memorial Library off west Wisconsin Avenue, students will need to catch a LIMO from Raynor.
DPS is concerned about the above-mentioned areas and have conducted dry runs from location to location.
Shaw has also offered several safety tips for freshmen. Learning one’s surroundings so as to not look or get lost is very important.
“This environment can be different, especially for students from rural areas,” Shaw said. “Students need to pay more attention to who is around them, the traffic and use the safety services provided by DPS.”
Shaw also encouraged freshmen not to bring a vehicle to campus as parking is at an extreme premium. However, if students must bring a vehicle, Shaw stressed the importance of not leaving items in the car that would make it more vulnerable to theft.
Steering wheel and bike locks can be indefinitely purchased from Parking Services.